If You Need Me: Chapter 4

“It should not be this hard to follow protocol. I don’t understand what the challenge is. Am I being unreasonable here? Like, are my expectations out of line?” I ask. The celebrities versus pros charity game is right around the corner, and dealing with rink availability for the women’s team on top of this is exactly what I don’t need.

Shilpa flips a pen between her fingers. “You’re not being unreasonable.”

She can’t say anything else. Not in her position. Not when she’s the legal representative for the team. When we’re in the office, Shilpa always plays by the rules. When we’re outside the office, she sometimes chooses to speak her mind. But only in an ‘I am a lawyer, but not your lawyer’ kind of way.

Topher Guy, the Terror’s director of team operations, and I don’t always see eye to eye. I can be direct when I need something, and sometimes I come off as harsh or cold as a result. But I’m efficient, and things get done in a timely manner. He doesn’t always see my needs as important since they don’t pertain to the actual game. But celebrities vs. pros is a huge event, and his ass dragging is a hiccup I don’t need.

“I’m sorry this is so frustrating.” Hammer’s empathy is written on her face. She’s my assistant and the daughter of Roman Hammerstein, the team goalie. She’s also dating Hollis Hendrix, Roman’s best friend and another player on the team. She interned for me last season, and after she graduated, we were able to hire her.

“You don’t need to apologize.” I rub my temples. “I need to soften my approach sometimes.” I was short with Topher the last time we spoke. He didn’t love that and said as much. Last week he told me things would move faster if I wasn’t such a ball buster.

Shilpa shakes her head. “You work with a team of alpha males. If you were a marshmallow, they would walk all over you. The issue is not you. Venting to us is fine, and completely understandable, but at some point, you may want to move this up the chain.”

I hear what Shilpa is really saying. But it’s a tricky situation. Topher has been with the team a long time. He’s old school and struggling to catch up in a world where not all women are his subordinates. But I don’t want to rock the boat, especially not with the success of such a huge event hinging on things going smoothly. Parts of my job require Topher’s approval, and irritating him will only create additional issues.

I flop down in my chair. “I just need this last thing off my plate before I take my vacation.”

“We have time,” Hammer assures me. “And I’ll be here while you’re away, so I can make sure things go smoothly.”

“I know. You are a freaking godsend.” Hiring Hammer has made my job doable again. And I love having someone with fresh energy to bounce ideas off.

My phone buzzes with a new message from the high school reunion group on social media. It’s from Brooklyn Bonner, my ex-best friend. It’s a special brand of torment, knowing I’ll see all these people in a handful of weeks. But not going isn’t an option. “Fuck.”

“Fuck, what?” Shilpa asks.

“Hold on.” I don’t even have to scroll for the newest content once I open the group. It’s right there. Front and center. “No. No way. Those assholes!”

“What’s going on?” Hammer asks. “Please don’t tell me Flip is in trouble again.”

“It’s not about Flip.” Flip Madden is the Terror center and my friend Rix’s brother. He has quite the reputation as a partying playboy, but he’s been so much better over the past few months. “It’s about my freaking high school reunion. This can’t be happening.” I want to toss my phone across the room. But then I’ll have to buy a new one.

“What can’t be happening?” Hammer glances at Shilpa, who shrugs.

I probably sound ridiculous. I know I’m being extra about needing a date for the reunion. But I have my reasons. Mostly, I don’t want to be remembered as the person I was growing up.

I haven’t seen Brooklyn or Sean in person since graduation, which is a feat, considering the company Sean works for has a box at the Terror arena. But Sean loves to post every moment of his life on social media, so I’ve been able to avoid him whenever he’s in town. That won’t happen at the reunion, though. Huntsville High’s graduating class is too small.

I decide to share at least part of the story, so my reaction makes sense. “I used to be tight with this girl Brooklyn in high school. I had a crush on this guy Sean, and I really wanted to go to prom with him. I thought he was going to ask me, but things went sideways, and instead he asked my best friend.”

“Oh my God, what a douche,” Hammer says.

“Yeah. Well, that wasn’t the douchiest part, because Brooklyn said yes. We haven’t spoken since.” The humiliation did not end there, either. Not even close.

“I hope he got drunk and puked all over her dress,” Hammer says darkly.

“Sadly, no.” Afterward I heard from multiple sources that she lost her virginity to him. Which was a lie. She lost her virginity in grade eleven at a party. She made me swear never to tell anyone, and I didn’t. “They’re still together, and they just announced their engagement in the reunion group. And for sure Brooklyn will be waving her huge diamond around in my face. So now I really need a date to this thing.” That’s the kind of person she’s always been, even when it was about getting invited to parties or anything else that made her feel important. Included. If she makes a comment about me still being single, I’ll lose my cool, or worse, become my eighteen-year-old self again.

These days, I’m a badass. Here in Toronto, I’m appreciated by the team because I don’t tolerate crap. Here I’m the person who gets shit done. But back in Huntsville, population 19,000, I’m the nerd whose best friend went to prom with the guy I liked. And now she’s marrying him.

Shilpa taps her coffee mug with her nails. They’re painted team colors. “This is your ten-year, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“So they’ve been together for an entire decade, and he just put a ring on her finger now?” Shilps asks.

“Who just put a ring on whose finger?” Ashish appears, making a beeline for Shilpa. He bends to kiss her cheek. “I missed you, my love.”

He’s followed by Dallas and Hollis.

“What’s this about a ring?” Dallas elbows Hollis. “Did you propose to Hammer?”

“Hollis has not asked me to marry him,” Hammer clarifies immediately. “My dad needs more than a couple of months to adjust to this, and I’m twenty-one, so we don’t need to jump on the married bandwagon anytime soon.”

Hollis narrows his eyes. “Thirty-five is coming for me.”

Hammer arches a brow. “Whatever, old man. That’s a couple years away.”

“Oh, I love that this is happening right now.” Shilpa’s eyes light up.

“We could have a long engagement,” Hollis suggests.

“I think we need to let Rix and Tristan have first crack at the engagement game.” Hammer gives Hollis a meaningful look.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Dallas agrees. “So who’s engaged?”

“Just some people from high school,” I mutter. “It’s not important.”

Shilpa arches a brow.

“It’s still weird that you two went to school together.” Ashish motions between me and Dallas.

“I call it fate.” Dallas leans against the doorjamb.

“Are you going to the reunion this summer?” Shilpa asks.

I fire daggers at her with my eyeballs. She deflects them with her impenetrable lawyer shield.

“Yeah. Why not, right? It’ll be fun to see everyone.”

“That’s because you were Mr. Popular and everyone loved you,” I scoff.

“Not everyone.” He pulls his phone from his pocket. “Is this for real? Brooklyn and Dr. Sean Sheep’s Ass are engaged?”

I bite back a smile. Sean’s last name is Ramsbottom. “It’s for real.”

“I can’t stand those two.” Dallas shakes his head. “They were a couple of douchebag attention whores back in the day, and nothing has changed. Good luck to her with that unfortunate last name,” he adds.

Ashish looks between us. “So you’re both going to this reunion?”

Hollis has taken one of the seats at the small conference table.

“Yeah,” Dallas and I say in unison.

“Together?” Ash asks.

Why does he have to be so oblivious?

“No,” I say quickly. “I am bringing a date.”

Dallas snaps his fingers. “That guy you went out with the other day? After the shelter promo?”

Hammer snorts a laugh and tries to cover it with a cough.

“No. Not that guy. But I’ll have a date. I am bringing someone to the reunion.” If I say it enough times, I will manifest a date into existence.

“We could go together,” Dallas says—like it’s the best idea he’s ever had, like he hasn’t totally fucked me over in the past. Need I mention Canada Day post grade eight graduation? He and his friend used my bike to do tricks then flipped it into the lake behind his parents’ house. I had to save up for a year to buy a new one. It was preferable to my brothers going after Dallas and his friends, which would have only made my life harder.

At my lack of response, Dallas adds, “We can even drive up together.”

I would rather eat sand than deal with Dallas and his buddies all weekend.

“That’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive, isn’t it? Hemi will murder you before you get there.” Hollis’s gaze jumps between us. “And while my girlfriend is great at her job, we still need Hemi in the office and not behind bars.”

“Hollis is right. I can’t go to prison. Orange is not my color.” I smooth my hands over my blue dress pants.

And Dallas is not to be trusted. I learned that the hard way, and I’ve never forgotten.